Fiestas Filipino! Celebrating The Month Of May, Celebrating Family Life, Virgin Mary, Farming & Farmers

I did not realize it, but in the Philippines the month of May is more celebrated than the birth month of Jesus the Redeemer, December –every single day in May, there is a fiesta in the islands!

This list I selected from Jojo Vito’s “Festivals In The Philippines For The Month Of May” (thehappytrip.com):

1.     May 01 “Pista’y Dayat” (Sea Festival) – Lingayen, Pangasinan

2.     May 01-03 “Bawang Festival” (Sinait, Ilocos Sur competitions & exhibits featuring the Biggest, Longest and Most Creatively Twined Garlic Bulbs)

3.     May 01-04 “Davao Gulf Regatta” (float parade competition of decorated bancas and vintas)

4.     May 01, 08, 15, 22, 29 “Santacruzan” (nationwide; a procession commemorating St. Helena’s finding the “True Cross”)

5.     May 01-31 “Magayon Festival” [celebrating the origins of Mt Mayon from the legend “Daragang Magayon” (Beautiful Maiden); also showcasing Albay’s history, arts, culture, trade, travel & tourism.]

6.     May 03 “Carabao-Carroza Festival” (Iloilo: parade of 18 gaily decorated bamboo sleds and racing among carroza (float)-pulling carabaos.

7.     May 04 “Pasalamat Festival” (La Carlota City: homage to the God of Agriculture living inside Kanlaon Volcano)

8.     May 14 “Carabao Festival” (procession of carabao carts with farm produce, prizes for the “strongest and most beautifully decorated carabaos.”

9.     May 14 “Pulilan Carabao Festival” (Bulacan)

10. May 15 “Pahiyas Sa Quezon” (Sariaya, Lucban, Tayabas, Quezon: Homes decorated with kiping – multi-colored paper-thin, leaf-shaped rice kropeck – and vegetables; trade fair; civic parades; procession)

11. May 17-19 “Obando Fertility Rites” (celebrating Saints Pascual, Baylon, Santa Clara & Nuestra Sra De Salambao; childless couples dancing along streets praying for pregnancy, colorfully costumed women praying for good harvests)

12. May 15-22 “Manggahan Sa Guimaras” (Mangoes of Guimaras)

13. May 22 “Lubi-Lubi Festival” (“Coconut Dance,” with indigenous materials as props & costumes)

14. May 25 “Pahoy-Pahoy Festival” (grand parade with scarecrow street dancers, to scare the pesty maya birds)

Out of 24 Philippine May fiestas I counted, those Agriculture-related total 14, or 58%. Meaning, we Filipinos are very religious, and surprisingly farm-oriented, this son of a Grade 3, full-blooded Ilocano farmer must say!

Question: “Why is it that millions of Filipino farmers and fishers are industrious and yet poor?”

Nationally, we have to do something positive about something negative! Fiesta Filipino is a Facebook page by group of Filipino-Canadian citizens based in Alberta, Canada. I just love their logo (above) because it contains a challenge: “Level up.”
(“Fiesta” image from Fiesta Filipino, Facebook.com

We Filipinos must level up! I will now give you my very personal answer: “Filipino farmers are poor because they are not business-minded, and they insist on expensive chemical farming methods that also generate greenhouse gases that produce Climate Change. Their agriculture must be Mother Nature-friendly!

How is Chemical Agriculture (CA) expensive? It is expensive of:

Lost natural richness of soils
Lost biodiversity
Lost naturally healthy foods
Lost farmers’ income
Lost pleasant climates!

If I were the new President, I will declare that henceforth, Philippine agriculture will be nature-based and nature-safe Regenerative Agriculture. Then we can celebrate with a fiesta everyday!@517